“I Cannot Express How Wrong I Was…”
BY TIM SCHMIDT – USCCA FOUNDER
Tim Schmidt
It’s no surprise that, in the wake of the Las Vegas massacre that occurred just two Sundays ago, things have really heated up in the ongoing gun-control debate.

I mentioned in last week’s Concealed Carry Report that the divisiveness over guns, gun laws and even the 2nd Amendment has finally seemed to reach its boiling point following the tragic events of Oct. 1.

As expected, the usual suspects wasted no time pointing fingers and assigning blame to the NRA, Republican lawmakers, responsible guns owners and pretty much anyone else who believes in and supports the God-given right to keep and bear arms.

Late night TV show host Jimmy Kimmel implied that the groups of people mentioned above simply “don’t care” about what happened in Vegas, questioning why they continually “allow this to happen” and suggesting that those folks should “pray for God to forgive them.”

While his response was typical of what we’re used to hearing from anti-gunners following such a devastating event, other seemingly pro-gun folks seemed to quickly cave to the likes of Kimmel’s — and others’ — emotional pleas to “do something.”

One Phoenix gun owner, Jonathan Pring, contacted his local police department and then turned over his firearms to them, hoping that his actions would inspire others to do the same. He claimed he was “trying to be the change he wanted to see in the world.”

Caleb Keeter, the lead guitarist for the Josh Abbott Band, a Texas-based collective that played at the Route 91 Harvest Festival just hours before the shooting, went so far as to renounce his support of the 2nd Amendment:

“I’ve been a proponent of the 2nd Amendment my entire life. Until the events of last night. I cannot express how wrong I was. Enough is enough. We need gun control RIGHT. NOW. My biggest regret is that I stubbornly didn’t realize it until my brothers on the road and myself were threatened by it.”

Of course, the most surprising reaction came from the National Rifle Association:

“In Las Vegas, reports indicate that certain devices were used to modify the firearms involved. Despite the fact that the Obama administration approved the sale of bump fire stocks on at least two occasions, the National Rifle Association is calling on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) to immediately review whether these devices comply with federal law. The NRA believes that devices designed to allow semi-automatic rifles to function like fully-automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations.”

I have to be honest: I’m equal parts shocked and disappointed in all of these responses.

As I mentioned last week, the events in Las Vegas, as heartbreaking as they are, don’t change my stance on firearms or other firearms-related equipment, the 2nd Amendment or concealed carry. I stand by the simple truth that no piece of equipment — regulated or not — is going to have one bit of an effect on an evil man or woman hell-bent on doing harm.

Bump stocks were a relatively obscure accessory before the Las Vegas massacre. We have to stop demonizing inanimate objects.

Let’s be honest:

The anti-gunners aren’t going to be happy with only banning bump stocks.

A little bit here, a little bit there … and pretty soon we’ve lost one of the cornerstones of our freedom.

Remember: Having the right to life also guarantees the right to defend life. And nothing acts as a greater equalizer than does a firearm.

I stand proudly for the 2nd Amendment, and I always will.

I hope you’re with me.

Take Care and Stay Safe,

Tim Schmidt
Publisher – Concealed Carry Report
USCCA Founder

P.S. – Have you upgraded to the brand-new USCCA Elite Membership level yet? Act now to be covered by $2,250,000 in Self-Defense SHIELD protection, and I’ll enter you to win today’s gun: the ADCOR ELITE Gas Piston Carbine 5.56mm/.223, valued at a whopping $2,295!

DECEMBER 18, 2014
Photos include close-up shots of Fast and Furious AK-47 rifle, blood-stained apartment, victim with massive head wound

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it has obtained graphic crime scene photos taken at the site of a 2013 gang-style assault on a Phoenix, AZ, apartment building, including a close-up photo revealing the serial number of the AK-47 rifle used by the assailants. As a result of Judicial Watch’s October 2, 2014, public records lawsuit, the weapon has been already traced to the Obama Department of Justice (DOJ) Operation Fast and Furious gunrunning program. The photos were also produced by the Phoenix Police Department in response to this lawsuit (Judicial Watch v. City of Phoenix (No. CV2014- 012018)). Full batch of photos can be viewed here:https://www.dropbox.com/sh/5xf9ksxu0vwwsql/AAAvXWW0MB5b7bzNRkVaz2saa?dl=0

According to press reports at the time of the assault, police investigating the shooting that left two wounded found an AK-47 assault rifle in the front passenger area of a vehicle that had crashed into a fence surrounding the apartment complex. Inside sources informed Judicial Watch at the time of the crime scene investigation that the AK-47 used in the assault had been provided to the assailants as part of the Obama-Holder Fast and Furious program. On October 16, 2014, Judicial Watch announced that, based upon information uncovered through its October 2 public records lawsuit, the U.S. Congress had confirmed that the rifle was tied to the Fast and Furious operation. Attorney General Eric Holder has already admitted that guns from the Fast and Furious scandal are expected to be used in criminal activity on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border for years to come.

In an October 16 letter to Deputy Attorney General James Cole, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Rep. Darryl Issa (R-CA) to Deputy Attorney General James Cole detail:

Based on the serial number [1977DX1654] from the police report obtained by Judicial Watch and documents obtained during our Fast and Furious investigation, we can confirm that the assault rifle recovered in the vehicle on July 30, 2013, was purchased by Sean Christopher Stewart. Stewart pled guilty to firearms trafficking charges resulting from his involvement with Operation Fast and Furious … Stewart purchased this particular firearm on December 8, 2009, one of 40 that he purchased that day while under ATF surveillance.” [Emphasis in original]

According to the Phoenix Police Department report, ATF traced the firearm on July 31, 2013, the day after Phoenix police officers recovered it. Yet, over a full year has passed, and the Department has failed to notify the Committees … This lack of transparency about the consequences of Fast and Furious undermines public confidence in law enforcement and gives the impression that the Department is seeking to suppress information and limit its exposure to public scrutiny.

In addition, despite the fact that the crime scene photos obtained by Judicial Watch clearly revealed a serial number that would show that the AK-47 used in the commission of the crime was a Fast and Furious weapon, the City of Phoenix and Department of Justice failed to turn over the incriminating photos to Congress, despite longstanding requests for such information. According to Judicial Watch sources, investigators knew at the scene and subsequently that the AK-47 was a Fast and Furious weapon.

The graphic crime scene photos include, but are not limited to, the following:

The Fast and Furious AK-47 laying in the front passenger well of the assailant’s vehicle
The Fast and Furious AK-47 in the police department evidence room
A close-up shot of the Fast and Furious AK-47 clearly revealing the ID number
A picture of the blood-stained apartment of the victim shot in the assault
A close-up picture of the victim with a massive gunshot head wound
A close-up shot of the victim’s ID
A handgun found at the scene of the crime
Three weeks following the July 29, 2013, assault, four suspects were apprehended in a raid conducted jointly by Phoenix police detectives and investigators from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). According to press reports at the time “numerous rifles and handguns” were found when, “Detectives from the Phoenix Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations served federal search warrants.”

The presence of DHS investigators immediately raised questions because Phoenix was the central location of the ATF’s deadly Fast and Furious gunrunning operation. Operation Fast and Furious was a Justice Department/ Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) program in which the Obama administration allowed guns to go to Mexican drug cartels in the hopes that the guns would end up at crime scenes, thereby advancing gun-control policies. Fast and Furious weapons have been implicated in the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and hundreds of other innocents in Mexico.

The failure to provide Congress with reports about the Phoenix crime scene is not the first time the Obama Justice Department has been accused of withholding Fast and Furious information. On June 28, 2012, Attorney General Eric Holder was held in contempt by the House of Representatives over his refusal to turn over documents about why the Obama administration may have lied to Congress and refused for months to disclose the truth about the gunrunning operation. It marked the first time in U.S. history a sitting Attorney General was held in contempt of Congress.

Separate Judicial Watch litigation for these documents, which had been subjected to an extraordinary executive privilege reelection season claim by President Obama, forced their release. Attorney General Holder announced his surprise retirement two days after the federal court ruling that led to the disclosure of the documents and to President Obama’s abandoning all of his controversial executive privilege claims that had kept the documents secret for nearly three years.

“Another Obama administration Fast and Furious cover-up has been undone by Judicial Watch. These crime scene photos graphically illustrate the legacy of President Obama and Eric Holder’s deadly Fast and Furious lies,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “Even as the evidence and casualties mount, the Obama administration is still secreting information about its reckless program. These photos show the American people firsthand the bloody consequences when an out-of-control administration will not even admit – or correct – its own mistakes.”

Judicial Watch investigators are currently uploading the photos in their entirety (now complete).